Sandal with flexible wooden sole



April 5, 1949. R.-L. DALBEY SANDAL WITH FLEXIBLE WOODEN SOLE Filed July 19. 1945 Patented Apr. 5, 1949 2,466,580 SANDAL wrrn FLEXIBLE WOODEN SOLE Russell L. Dalbey, Spokane, 'Wash.,- assignor of one-half to Glen N. Lollis, Spokane, Wash.

Application July 19, 1945, Serial No. 605,985

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to shoes and is particularly concerned with improvements in shoes of the type wherein the sole is of substantial thickness and carries straps by which it can be attached to the foot. These shoes generally are referred to as sandals in the trade.

It is the principal purpose of my invention to provide a shoe of this character which is comfortable to the wearer and has enough flexibility to enable the wearer to walk in. the normal fashion and yet is so constructed as to avoid the usual difficulty of such shoes in that they break down at the hinge, and, either become unwearable because of destruction of the hinge or because of the formation of a ridge where the toe section and the body part of the shoe join. My invention contemplates as a means of carrying out the above object, the provision of a shoe body which in outline conforms generally to the shape of the human foot, but which has its upper and lower surfaces substantially flat planes, the upper surface consisting of two planes at different levels, one to receive the heel part of the foot and the other to receive the toe. I have found, also, that in order to obtain the necessary comfort to the wearer, the bottom surface of the shoe adjacent to the hinge line, where the toe portion and the main body join, has to be hollowed out somewhat, so that when the pressure of the foot is on the hinge line and the hinge is slightly bent, there is adequate supporting surface. It is somewhat difiicult to explain just why this hollowed-out section on the bottom surface of the shoe is so important in obtaining comfort, but the experience of wearers has been that the shoe is much more comfortable with the hollowed-out portion than without it. One advantage of the hollowedout portion is that there is less tendency of the shoe to creep as the toe portion is brought down on the ground' than there is without this hollowed-portion.

A further purpose of the invention is to provide, in a shoe of this character, a hinge construction whereby the toe portion of the shoe may swing with respect to the body portion in such a fashion as to give a flexibility more than the flexibility of the ordinary leather soled shoe. This efiect is obtained by providing a wide connecting member equal, at least, to about onethird the length of the lower flat portion of the top surface of the shoe. This connecting member is set into the shoe body so as to be substantially flush with the fiat surface and preferably is of substantial thickness and is of a semi-flexible nature. A heavy leather of about one-eight inch thickness is found to be quite successful. This connecting member is secured only at its opposite side edges, so that in bending, the connecting member is curved about a center that is substantially above the surface thereof. In walking, the average individual puts the heel to the ground first, and then brings the toe down, and in removing the foot from the ground; the heel is first lifted and the foot bends at about that portion which would rest upon the connecting member. The nature of the connecting member and its extreme width thus permits it to bend about a line inside the foot at about the same level as the joints in the toes. The foot, therefore, does not slide or work back and forth on the toe portion of the shoe to any appreciable extent.

The nature and advantages of my invention will appear more fully from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and description are illustrative only, and are not to be considered as limiting the invention, except insofar as it is limited by the claim.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of the shoe embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the shoe; and

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the shoe.

Referring now to the drawings, the improved shoe construction embodying my invention comprises a main body portion 5 and a toe portion 6. These two portions preferably are originally formed of a suitable material such as wood, a plastic composition, or a light metal, in a single piece which is then divided into the two portions by a cut at 1 extending transversely across the body a short distance back from the front end. The body has a bottom surface 8 which is substantially a plane and two top surfaces 9 and I0 substantially parallel to the surface 8. The top surface 9 is spaced somewhat above the surface ID to provide a heel portion on the shoe. The surfaces 9 and ID are joined by a smoothly curved portion H that merges into the two surfaces without presenting any sharp break. This curved portion of the top surface fits into the arch portion of the foot to give support in the usual manner.

The main body portion 5 and the toe portion 6 are joined together by a connecting member l2 which is of a substantial width, that is, at least about one-third of the total length of the lower fiat portion of the top surface of the shoe. The connecting member I2 is set into the portions 5 and 5 so as to be substantially flush with the surface Ill. It is secured to the portions 5 and 6 only at its opposite edges as indicated at l3 and M. Directly opposite the connecting member l2, the lower surface 8 of the shoe is hollowed out, as indicated at l5 and 16, so as to provide a shallow transversely extending channel increasing in depth toward the dividing line I from points at least as remote Ifbiilthe dividing line as theopposite edges of the connecting member I2.

The bottom surface of the shoe may be provided with a suitable covering, not shown, orit may be provided with depressions H to aid the gripping of the surface on which the wearer walks. I have found that in use, even in -sand and dirt, that there is very little tendency of material to catch between the body portion and the toe portion at the dividing line. However, if desired, the shoe may be relieved by slots I8 and I! at the dividing line to prevent sand and the like from ta ine between he wo p t on Suitabl e st a s :28 a :21 ar moun ed i cries-cross fashion to receive the toe of the wearer, a heel strap 22 is provided and in order to retain th he l strap in p s t on up n the ankl two loop 2 a d a e fas ione thereon to re eive a ti st :25-

From the foregoing description it is believed that the nature and advantages of my invention will be clear to those skilled in this art;

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A shoe of the character described comprising a body conforming generally in outline to the outline of the human root, said shoe having llDfier and lower foot and-ground engaging faces, the forward portion of [said shoe being transversely divided to forni a separate toe section, a bendable semi-flexible connecting member set substantially flush into the forward top face portion and extending a substantial distance from the division line over the main section and the toe section and secured only adjacent its front and rear edges to the said sections, whereby the toe section may swing by the bending of said semi-flexible connection member throughout the greater part of its width, the lower face of said shoe having transverseiy extending surfaces directly opposite the connecting member that taper upwardly from the plane of the lower face toward the division line the adjacent end edges of said main section and the toe section being recessed intermediate their side edges to provide an inverted substantially v-shaped nannei terminating short of the side edges of the shoe.

RUSSELL L. DALBEY.

REFERENCES CITED I The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,250,852 Goldstdne Dec. 18, 1917 2,266,732 Babinchak Dec. '23,- 1941 2,339,993 Hollander Jan. 25, 1944 June 2,852,532 Ghez et al June 27, 1944 OREIGN mews Number Country Date 74,016 Switzerland i Dec. 16, 1916 75,364 Austria Feb. 10, 1919 484,081 France Aug. 30, 1917 494,655 France June 4, 1919 487,269 France Oct. 5; 1939 

